The game season will also adjust to the northern or southern hemisphere reasons too, which will be the first for the animal crossing series depending on the player's location. Players can invite animals to live on their island and have the option to choose or influence where the animals make their homes. Premium items can be purchased from New Nook Miles in earned game currency by completing various tasks. Players can also choose the skin color of their character, a feature featured in the 2015 spin-title f Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. The game allows the player to customize the appearance of his character and not to adopt certain hairstyles or facial features to a particular gender.

Like the spin-title title Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp 2017, the game introduces a crafting system that allows the player to convert equipment and furniture that can be used to decorate the indoor and outdoor areas of the game into appliances and furniture. Players can collect various items to use as decorations in the game. The game explores the island as a player, proceeds openly, and develops it into an anthropological animal community.

The player plays the role of a customized character who heads to the desert after purchasing a vacation package from Tom Nook, a raucous character from North America who is a major part of the series. As in previous installments in the Animal Crossing series, New Horizon is a real-life simulation game.

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